1. Field of the Invention
A sheltered and repositionably mounted enclosure having a housing secured to and supported by a mounting post. The mounting post is repositionably secured within a mounting sleeve and the mounting post bottom rests upon a mound-shaped retainer having a depression located in the middle portion of the mound.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mailboxes, newspaper enclosures, signs and other objects are typically mounted on a post and the lower portion of the post is buried in the ground or set in a foundation. Such mailboxes, newspaper enclosures, signs or other objects are often located near a road or near an area that is susceptible to accidental impact or applied forces. When such objects are struck, the mounting post often fractures or bends into a position where the damage cannot be repaired. Thus a need exists for a mounting design which allows the mounting post to deflect upon impact or force applied to the mounting post.
Existing methods to mount a post in the ground include digging a hole in the ground, setting the mounting post in the hole, pouring concrete in the hole and allowing the concrete to set. Another existing method of mounting a post includes driving the post into the ground and supporting the post with the surrounding ground. Neither method prevents decay of the mounting post. If the mounting post is fractured in either method, the mounting post must be again driven into the ground or a new hole excavated and new concrete poured.
Finger, U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,881 teaches a placard holding display assembly having a vertical panel with horizontal guides which hold placards. A base having side walls constructed from a resilient material holds the panel in an upright position during normal wind loads. As wind loads increase against the vertical panel, the base side walls distort from their normal shape and allow the panel to tip in the direction of the prevailing winds. A decrease in the wind loads causes the base side walls to spring back to their normal shape thus returning the vertical panel to an upright position.
Kaplan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,518 teaches a traffic marker having three replaceable resilient parts. The upright column is a resilient tube, the base is molded rubber, and the bellows connecting the tube and the base is also a resilient rubber. The bellows functions as a hinge member. The upright column has a lower flared end which snugly fits within a top opening of the bellows. The lower portion of the bellows seats within an opening in the base. Each of the three resilient parts can be replaced in case of damage to any part.
Schmanski et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,435 teaches a roadway delineator having a post which supports a sign o guide marker. The post is designed to yield on impact and will substantially resume its original configuration after the impact force has been removed. The post is a single member and has longitudinal shear planes that allow it to split along such shear planes upon impact, thereby reducing the tendency of the post to shear transversely.
Ryan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,534 teaches a replaceable guidepost which supports a road marker and the like. A flexible tubular post member is secured to a ground surface such as a roadway. The tubular post has a lower flanged portion. The base member is adapted to receive and engage the lower flange portion of the tubular post. A collar member is positioned over the base and the lower portion of the tubular post, thereby clamping the post between the base and the collar and affixing the base member to the ground surface. A damaged post member can be replaced by removing a mounting cap.
Blau, U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,117 teaches a flexible traffic standard having an anchor support assembly consisting of a hollow cylindrical tube with a driving point at one end. A tempered spring steel strap is disposed within the hollow cylindrical tube and the spring steel strap is secured by compression bolts. The flexible traffic standard has a rain boot which prevents water from running down into the tube and a rain cap which prevents the entry of water through the top of the flexible standard. The spring steel strap is reversely folded at its midpoint and forms a pair of upwardly extending resilient arms which are laterally outwardly offset by means of a twist in the spring steel at the midpoint reverse point. The flexible traffic standard deflects upon impact into an out-of-the-way position to allow an impacting vehicle to pass across it and when the impacting force is removed, the flexible traffic standard resiliently restores to its normal use position.
Schmanski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,281 teaches a road-surface mountable delineator support member having a resilient wall structure capable of maintaining an attached delineator in upright, operational orientation as a traffic guide and capable of surviving repeated vehicle impacts. The wall structure has an integrally formed neck, shoulder and large collapsible body. The larger collapsible body section receives most of the vehicle impact forces and the wall structure deforms rather than the attached delineator structure. The support base can be adhesively attached to a road surface and can be adapted for attachment of tubular delineator structures with various reflective formats.
Duckett, U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,108 teaches a flexible surface mounted delineator having an upstanding flexible marker. The flexible marker has one opening in a bottom wall to receive a fastener such as a bolt. The flexible marker has another opening through a side wall to accommodate a wrench for the purpose of tightening or releasing the bolt. The delineator and mounting plate can be replaced with only the use of a standard wrench.
A spring back mailbox pole is another existing design of a flexible mounting post. The spring back mailbox pole has a heavy steel tubing with a stout, coiled spring joint welded to the steel tubing. One end of the coiled spring is secured to a length of steel tubing with a conventional mailbox mounted at the opposite end of the length of steel tubing. The opposite end of the coiled spring is secured to a second length of steel tubing. The second length of steel tubing is anchored in concrete.